John

“The question isn't whether you're going to believe, but who; it's not merely about what to believe, but who to entrust yourself to. Do we really think humanity is our best bet? Do we really think we are the the answer to our problems, we who've generated all of them? The problem with everything from Enlightenment scientism to mushy Eat-Pray-Love-ism is us. If anything looks irrational, it's the notion that we are our own best hope.”
― James K.A. Smith, On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts

“You don’t need to unburden or collect yourself and then come to Jesus. Your very burden is what qualifies you to come. No payment is required; he says, “I will give you rest.” His rest is gift, not transaction. Whether you are actively working hard to crowbar your life into smoothness (“labor”) or passively finding yourself weighed down by something outside your control (“heavy laden”), Jesus Christ’s desire that you find rest, that you come in out of the storm, outstrips even your own.”
― Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

“It’s a strange irony that prayer is the strengthening of an inner muscle that does nothing more than boast in weakness.”
― John Starke, The Possibility of Prayer: Finding Stillness with God in a Restless World

“Everyday faithfulness requires patience and fortitude that's desperately dependent upon God's own faithfulness.”
― Glenna Marshall, Everyday Faithfulness: The Beauty of Ordinary Perseverance in a Demanding World